We ordered "who killed the electric car" from netflix - very thought provoking movie. It blames several factors, but GM kills me that they developed the EV technology 2-3 years ahead of the competition but deemed it unprofitable and failed to see the marketshare opportunity. Meanwhile, they invested in the Hummer and we know the rest of the story. Apparently these EVs run forever, so GM saw a slow down in repeat purchases and low maintenance fees as the EV doesnt have an internal combustion engine and runs very clean.
some other tidbits:
* this entreprenuer in detroit developed a battery that doesnt need a charge for 250 miles
* They make EVs that go 0-60 in 4 seconds
* Darn thing costs $100k, but could cost a quarter of this if it is ran thru a Detroit automated plant.